In our Old Testament canon, the last section is referred to as the ‘Minor Prophets.’ In the Hebrew Bible these books are part of what are referred to as the ‘Latter Prophets’ which include Isaiah, Jeremiah, and Ezekiel and are known as ‘The Book of the Twelve.’ In the Hebrew canon they are located between Ezekiel and Psalms. They are not referred to as minor because of their importance but because of their length. All twelve of the books combined are about the size of Ezekiel. They are arranged approximately in chronological order from the eighth century B.C. to the fifth century B.C. Many will mention the name of the King or Kings during which the prophet ministered but some can’t be dated with any certainty. If you are reading in a printed modern translation (not from an app) they will indent sections that are written in Hebrew poetry. You’ll see a lot of Hebrew poetry in these books. Some like Micah and Habakkuk are almost all poetry; some have a mixture of narrative and poetry like Amos and Zechariah, and Malachi is all narrative. Just as the Major Prophets occasionally had messages to or about nations other than Israel and Judah so will the Minor Prophets speak concerning other nations.
If you were to ask our former senior pastor what he was going to preach on the following Sunday, he always answered ‘sin.’ Sin was the reason for the rise of the prophetic ministry in Israel and Judah. From the split of the United Kingdom after the death of Solomon in 931 B.C. the Northern and Southern Kingdoms began a downhill slide into sin. The Northern Kingdom just slid faster and were conquered and taken into exile by the Assyrians in 722 B.C. The Southern Kingdom had a couple of revivals and slid at a slower pace but were conquered and taken into exile by the Babylonians in 586 B.C. The sin was addressed by the prophets. In Amos chapter 2:4-8 we read of the sin of Israel and Judah and then beginning in verse 9 God describes what He has done for them. In verses 11 and 12 we read,
11 I raised up some of your sons as prophets
and some of your young men as Nazirites….
12 But you made the Nazirites drink wine
and commanded the prophets,
“Do not prophesy.”
Then in chapter 4 we read,
6 I gave you absolutely nothing to eat,
in all your cities,
a shortage of food in all your communities,
yet you did not return to me.
This is the Lord’s declaration.[1]
That little phrase “yet you did not return to me” is repeated in verses 8, 9, 10, and 11. With all the discipline God brought upon the people they still did not repent.
Bible Project Videos to watch while reading the Minor Prophets.
- How to Read the 15 Prophetic Books in the Bible link
- Hosea Video Summary link
- Joel Video Summary link
- Amos Video Summary link
- Obadiah Video Summary link
- Jonah Video Summary link
- Micah Video Summary link
- Nahum Video Summary link
- Habakkuk Video Summary link
- Zephaniah Video Summary link
- Haggai Video Summary link
- Zechariah Video Summary link
- Malachi Video Summary link
[1] Christian Standard Bible. 2020. Nashville, TN: Holman Bible Publishers.
